The Lonely Pokemon
by CuboneStudios
Summary: Based on facts and theories about specific Pokemon, a kangaskhan child named Cubone is forced to live a harsh life after his mother's death and eventually becomes a hero that no one expected. My first fan fiction so reviews are welcomed.
1. Chapter 1

_This story is based off of both facts and theories about specific Pokémon_

**THE LONELY POKEMON**

CHAPTER 1

This is an amazing story about a Pokémon. A Pokémon, who is forced to live a harsh life, and eventually become a hero that not even he thought he would become, oh, you never heard of this story? Well, allow me to tell you this tragic, yet wonderful story.

Our story begins… actually it would probably be best to describe the setting first before we begin. This world, in which our story takes place in, is inhabited only by Pokémon. All Pokémon live in this world except for one, cubones. However, the main character of this story actually goes by the name, Cubone. Some Pokémon in this world do not speak, as if they were animals. I think we're ready to begin.

Our story begins at a cave in the middle of a large desert. A kangaskhan child is outside playing with a stick as if it were a sword.

"Cubone," said a voice from inside the cave. "It's time to come in."

Cubone replied, "Coming mother."

Cubone then ran inside to see his mother holding a plate of berries. Cubone didn't have a father. He only had his mother, which was all he needed to be happy.

"Cubone, I wish you would stop playing with that stick," his mother said. "It worries me."

Cubone sighed. "But mom, I told you. I'm training to become a marowak."

Cubone's mother smiled when she heard him say this. She knew that it would most likely that her son wouldn't become a member of the marowaks, a group of disciplined Pokémon warriors that use bones for their weapons and are born with their skulls on the outside, but at the same time she knew that her son was different and born to do great things.

"Cubone," she said, "one day your life is going to change unexpectedly, but I know that you will easily handle that tough change when it comes.

"What do you mean?" he asked as grabbed some berries and began to eat.

"Well, one day I won't be here, and I need to prepare you for when that day comes. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Cubone shook his head and yawned after he ate the last berry on the plate.

His mother chuckled, "Looks like someone needs to take a nap."

The mother carried her son to the part of the cave were they slept and tucked Cubone in.

"I'll be right back sweetheart." she said. "I have to go get some more berries for later." She then kissed Cubone on the forehead and proceeded to walk out of the cave.

"I love you, mom." Cubone said, drifting to sleep.

His mother turned around before she left the cave and said "I love you too, my little marowak."

Cubone then began to dream of what life as a marowak would be like, going on amazing adventures, discovering Pokémon that he had never seen before and wielding a bone of his own. However, his dream was interrupted by a loud crack of thunder. He had apparently been asleep for hours and a storm was heading his way. But as he began to look around the cave, he noticed something that began to worry him. His mother had not yet returned.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

"Mom," Cubone cried, "Mom, where are you?"

Cubone continued to cry out for his mother, but every time he called for his mother, there was no response. The storm was starting to get worse. Every time Cubone heard the roar of a lightning bolt clash with the ground, he would become more worried about his mother. Cubone decided against his better judgment to go look for his mother. He was afraid, but he knew that he would have to be brave like the marowaks in order to find his mother.

Cubone began his search for his mother at the tree in which his mother picked berries from. The walk was only minutes, but it felt like hours. Walking up to the tree, Cubone sighed in disappointment since his mother wasn't there. As he walked away from the tree, a lightning bolt fell from the sky and struck the tree, splitting it into two. Cubone's walk quickly turned into a run.

With his mother not at the tree, Cubone began run around the desert in a hurry, searching everywhere that he knew. After an hour of searching, he began to be exhausted from running and had to sit on a rock. Looking around, he saw a strange object in the distance that looked familiar.

Curious, Cubone ran over to the object. As he got closer to the object, the object became more and more familiar. It wasn't until a flash of lightning appeared when Cubone realized the object was his mother, who was lying on the ground with her back facing Cubone.

"Mom!" he cried, "Are you ok?"

Cubone ran up to hug his mother, but was stopped when he stepped into something wet. Cubone looked down and noticed a pool of blood was surrounding his mother. Cubone, who was scared for his life, walked around to his mother's front side to see if his worst nightmare was true. Cubone's heart skipped a beat after what he saw. His mother was dead.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Cubone began to pour tears out from his eyes, which were washed away by the rain that just had started. Cubone didn't want to believe that his mother was dead. He kept shaking her, hoping that she was just sleeping.

"Mom," he cried, "Wake up mom. Please wake up."

Cubone eventually stopped shaking his mother when he took a closer look at her neck. It had been cut and had been the source of where the blood came from. Her death wasn't an accident. It was a murder.

Cubone was too upset to speak. All he could do was hug his dead mother and cry. But then, Cubone heard something strange. He turned around to see what he heard. Nothing was there at first, but the sound started to become louder and clearer. It sounded like barking.

The barking noise sounded like it was coming Cubone's way. Frightened, Cubone ran towards a boulder and hid behind it. The barking became more louder and louder each time. Cubone peeked around the corner to see what was making the barking sound.

He saw a group of Pokémon running towards his mother. About half of them were about the size of Cubone. They were mostly grey except for their paws and face which were black. The other half of the group was bigger and was mostly black with some grey on their body.

Cubone didn't recognize any of the Pokémon. There wasn't many Pokémon who lived in the desert, and Cubone only saw other Pokémon when he was with his mother who frightened off any that were predators. The group of Pokémon ran up to Cubone's mother and began to sniff her.

Cubone knew what was going to happen next. He hid behind the boulder again and covered his ears as the other Pokémon began to eat his mother. But even with his ears covered, he could still hear the other Pokémon biting, ripping, chewing, and swallowing his mother. Cubone began to cry again.

The Pokémon ran off into the distance a few minutes after they had eaten Cubone's mother. Cubone came out of hiding and looked over at his mother. All that was left of her were her bones.

Cubone was now all alone and had no idea what to do. He walked over to where his mother used to be, fell to his knees and started crying.

"Mom, why?" he cried "why did you have to die?"

Then a chill ran down Cubone's spine, as he heard the sound of a horrifying growl. He jumped to his feet to see what the cause of the growl was, which turned out to be one of the smaller Pokémon from before.

Cubone was too scared to move. He just stood there frozen as a rock while the wild Pokémon continued to growl at him. The growling turned into a bark which caused Cubone to flinch. The Pokémon then ran up to Cubone and attacked him with its paw, which cut Cubone's face. The Pokémon then proceeded to tackle Cubone next to one of his mother's bones.

Cubone felt the bone touch his hand and looked over at it. The wild Pokémon opened its mouth and prepared to bite down on Cubone's neck. A flash of lightning appeared before Cubone instinctively grabbed the bone and swung it at the Pokémon.

The Pokémon soared through the air after being hit with the bone. The Pokémon, who was once frightening to Cubone, looked scared for its life. It ran off into the same direction as the others with its tail in between its legs.

Cubone didn't know exactly what happened. One moment he was afraid of dying. The next, he had defeated a wild Pokémon that had tried to kill him. Cubone looked down at his hand which was still holding the bone. It felt so natural to him for some reason. He then walked over to his mother's corpse and was confused on what to do next.

Glancing over at his mother's skull, Cubone remembered that his mother told him that one day, she wouldn't be here and that he would have to take care of himself. He walked over to the skull and picked it up from the ground. He looked into the eyes of the skull and sighed.

"Well mom," he said, "you always said you would protect me. And you will even after your death."

Cubone then placed the skull on his head, if it were like a helmet. He then grabbed the bone he had used on the Pokémon from the ground and began to walk away from his mother's corpse. His life had now changed for the worst. He would have to live on his own, carry a bone for a weapon against predators, and wear the skull of his dead mother as a means of protection. And thus begins the tragedy of the Lonely Pokémon.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

It has been one month since the death of Cubone's mother. Since then, Cubone has been living off the land, and always with his guard up.

Cubone never returned to the cave that he had once called home. The thought of that he had once lived there with his mother was too much for him to bear. Instead, he would always be on the move. Never stopping unless he needed to eat or rest.

Cubone had a hard time finding water to drink. Once in a while, he would find a small oasis in the desert which had enough water for him to last for days. However, he couldn't stay at the oasis because potential predators would be there for water as well.

Finding food was even harder to find than water. The only place Cubone knew where to get food was at the tree that had been destroyed during the storm the night his mother died. Oddly enough, Cubone would sometimes wake up to a pile of apples next to him. Cubone didn't know where the apples came from, but since food was scarce in the desert, he would always eat them anyway.

Cubone could never get over the death of his mother. He would sometimes cry himself to sleep, and even the skull that he wore was stained with tears. His dreams would always be about his mother.

One night, Cubone found a nice little rock that he could rest is head on. The moon was full and the sky was filled with stars. Cubone hadn't had anything to drink all day and was dehydrated. He lay down and looked up at the stars. He looked around to see if he could remember all the constellations that his mother had told him about. But then he heard a voice.

"Cubone," it said.

Cubone jumped to his feet and quickly grabbed his bone.

"Who's there?" he shouted.

He looked around to see who it was, but no one was there. The voice spoke again,

"Cubone," it said.

Cubone was now angry. "Show yourself!"

The voice spoke again but this time, it spoke in a familiar soft voice. "Cubone," it said.

"Mom?" said the now calmer Pokémon.

He looked everywhere around himself, but all he could find was some rocks and shrubs. It wasn't until the voice called his name again when he noticed it was coming from above him. He tilted his head upwards and was astonished at what he saw. Inside the moon was the face of his mother.

"Mom! Is that really you?" he asked.

His mother spoke, "Cubone."

The face of Cubone's mother didn't move her lips when she spoke, nor did she blink, nor did she smile. She just stared down at Cubone with no emotion.

Cubone for once was happy since his mother's death. He dropped his bone in excitement and continued to ask his mother questions.

"How are you talking to me? Are you some kind of ghost?" he asked.

His mother spoke, "Cubone."

Cubone began to be confused. Why would she only speak his name? Why did she look like she didn't know Cubone? He asked these questions to his mother. Once again, she only spoke his name.

Cubone's confusion turned into frustration. He began to yell at his mother with all his might, telling his mother to answer his questions.

His mother spoke, "Cubone."

What Cubone thought was a dream come true, had now turned into his worst nightmare. Hearing his mother say his name was now torture to him. He covered his ears as his mother continued to say his name. Cubone eventually yelled something at his mother that he never thought he would have said.

"Leave me alone!" he roared. "I don't need you anymore!"

He then looked back up at the moon and to his amazement; his mother's face was no longer there. The whole time he had been hallucinating from dehydration. Cubone was both relieved and upset that his mother had left. He went back to the rock and placed his head on it and fell to sleep. For once, Cubone did not dream about his mother.

Cubone had learned his first of several life lessons that would come in the near future. _Although death is a terrible thought, it is even worse to let the thought take over you._


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Four months have now passed since the death of Cubone's mother. Life for Cubone was still harsh, but became less more difficult as the days went on.

Cubone woke up one morning with a distasteful taste of morning breath. He looked over to his left to see a pile of apples next to him once again. He ate some of the apples, and then stretched his body to prepare himself for the long day.

The sun was high and the heat was nearly unbearable. Cubone began to search for water, but had no luck at finding any at first. It took five hours for Cubone to find a small oasis which consisted of a small pool of water and some bushes.

Shortly after Cubone finished getting a drink of water, he began to hear the sounds of footsteps. He quickly turned around to see what was making the footsteps. Strangely, no one was there. Before he left the oasis, a wild houndoom jumped out of the bushes and stood in the way of Cubone.

Houndooms were one of only predator Pokémon that lived in the desert. They were vicious Pokémon that were known to breathe fire. This was the first time Cubone had run into any Pokémon since his mother's death.

Cubone raised his bone and prepared himself in case the houndoom attacked him. The houndoom barked at Cubone as a warning which caused Cubone to jump. The houndoom then lunged at Cubone, who quickly moved out of the way from the attack.

The houndoom roared out a flamethrower towards Cubone, who barely managed to dodge the blast of fire. Cubone was now angry. He didn't understand why he was being attacked by this Pokémon. He quickly threw his bone at the houndoom which distracted it long enough for him to tackle the Pokémon. Cubone was so angry, that he proceeded to punch his attacker in the face to the point where his knuckles started to bleed.

The houndoom was lying on the ground and was too injured to defend itself. Cubone stopped punching the houndoom to grab his bone. He walked back over to the already beaten Pokémon and raised his bone high in the air. Cubone was about to kill the defenseless houndoom.

But then he heard something that sounded like yelping. He turned his head towards the bushes and saw a little houndour pup, which was crying at the sight of its mother being brutally beaten.

Cubone then had a flashback of the night his mother was killed. He remembered all the pain and suffering he went through that night. He realized that he was about to do the same thing that had happened to him. The thought of him killing a Pokémon made him sick to his stomach. He lowered his bone along with his head and walked off.

The mother houndoom slowly stood up as its pup ran over to it. The both of them starred at Cubone with confusion. Cubone had just now learned his second life lesson. _Just because someone killed somebody that you love, doesn't give you the right to kill someone else._


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

A couple of days have passed since the day Cubone ran into the houndoom. Cubone was still frightened by the fact he had almost killed a Pokémon. He would still walk with his head down in shame.

That day, storm clouds began to form in the sky. Cubone noticed this and quickly looked for shelter. Looking around, he noticed a large plateau that he had never seen before. Cubone saw that there was a cave entrance at the bottom of the plateau and ran straight for it. Just as he entered the cave, it started to rain heavily.

"Just in the nick of time." he thought.

Cubone waited at the entrance of the cave for the storm to lighten up. But it only got worse as time went on. Cubone decided to pass the time by seeing what was inside the cave. Surprisingly, the cave was much bigger than he thought.

The cave got darker the deeper Cubone went in. His feet sank into the floor which was now mostly mud. Cubone struggled a little bit to lift his feet off of the ground.

The walls of the cave eventually were covered with crystals that began to glow blue. Cubone had never seen such beautiful crystals before. He walked up to one to witness its beauty up close. Upon looking at the crystal, he noticed the reflection of the roof of the cave. He tilted his head upwards and saw hundreds of sleeping zubats.

Cubone froze as a rock. He knew that zubats sometimes would drink the blood of another Pokémon for food, so he tried to not wake any of them up. Because of this, Cubone took baby steps as he went deeper into the cave.

The muddy floor went back to being rock like as he reached what looked like the end of the cave. The end of the cave was similar to a large room. There were still glowing blue crystals on the walls which allowed Cubone to see. There was also a large underground lake that was about twenty feet deep. Then something started to surface from underneath the water. Cubone quickly hid behind a boulder and peeked over to see what was in the water.

A large blue Pokémon with thin spikes coming out of its head and back crawled onto the shore of the lake. The Pokémon had claws on the ends of its fingers and toes, and looked strong enough to rip a tree out from the ground. The Pokémon was holding what looked like a magikarp in his hand. It then started to sniff the air and started to growl. He turned to face Cubone's direction.

Cubone now had a better look at the Pokémon. The Pokémon had a large jaw with razor sharp teeth and was actually known as a feraligatr. However, this feraligatr was much different from the other feraligatrs. He looked as if his eyes were removed from his head.

"Who's there?" shouted the feraligatr. "I know someone is there! I can smell you! You're behind the boulder!"

Cubone cleared his throat and slowly walked away from the boulder. He knew that he wasn't strong enough to fight the feraligatr and win. So instead, he tried to talk to the Pokémon and possibly leave without a fight.

"How did you know I was behind the boulder?" he asked.

The feraligatr growled, "I've been living in this cave for a long time! I know every inch of this cave!"

Cubone couldn't stop starring at the eye holes of the feraligatr. The urge was making him nervous. He had to ask what happened to his eyes.

"What… what happened to your eyes?" he asked nervously.

"My eyes?" shouted the feraligatr. "Who are you to ask about my eyes?"

The feraligatr then sighed and sat down on the rocky floor beneath him. He rubbed his face with his free hand.

"My eyes," he said more calmly. "They were taken from me!"

"Taken? By who?" Cubone asked.

The feraligatr chuckled, "You seem to ask a lot of questions. Who are you?"

"My name is Cubone," he said. "Please, tell me what happened to your eyes."

The feraligatr tried to figure out where to start. "It happened a long time ago, before I found this cave. I was living in Castelia City, and was desperate for money. I found a job as an enforcer for a criminal organization called the Sandstorm Gang. They didn't pay me that much money, but it was enough for me to live off of."

"But then," he said with a louder tone, "he took over. A Krookodile that calls himself King Dile. He changed everything so that members had to be either rock or ground type Pokémon. Every other type that was a member was forced out. But I refused."

The feraligatr paused for a moment to take a bite out of the magikarp.

"I attacked them, but I was quickly outsmarted by King Dile. His men held me down while he ripped my eyes out right from my head." he shouted with anger. "I lost everything because of that monster."

"That's a sad story." Cubone said.

The feraligatr chuckled, "Do you know a sadder tale?"

Cubone was about tell him about what happened to him and his mother, but decided not to.

"No, I don't." he whispered.

Cubone then remembered why he was in the cave in the first place. The storm should have been over by now. He decided to go to the entrance and check.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked the feraligatr.

Cubone turned to face the Pokémon with confusion.

"You didn't really think I was going to let you leave did you?" chuckled the feraligatr. "After all, it's been to long since I had anything to eat other than magikarp."

Cubone was now in a quagmire. He was so close to leaving the end of the cave that he could almost fell the mud beneath his feet. He needed to act fast. Then he remembered that the feraligatr was outsmarted once. He thought that maybe if it happened to him once, then it could happen again.

"If you refuse to let me leave," Cubone said. "Then I'll have no choice but to make you suffer."

"Suffer?" the feraligatr said laughing. "How exactly are you going to do that?"

Cubone grinned, "I'll wake up the hundreds of zubats in the cave. They will be both angry and hungry for blood, and therefor will attack you. And without your eyes, you won't see them coming."

The feraligatr now looked worried. He thought about what to do for a moment, and then came to a decision.

"Very well," He said in disappointment. "But mark my words Cubone, if our paths cross each other again, I will kill you!" He then headed back to the lake that he was in before.

Cubone left the cave with both relief and questions, mostly about King Dile and Castelia City. When Cubone was finally outside the cave, he was covered in mud and wished that it was still raining to wash it off. Cubone had also learned another life lesson. _Sometimes, your mind is more powerful than your muscles._

**AUTHORS NOTE: I just want to thank all the people who have read up to this point of my first fan fiction. I reached over a 100 views in total which makes me proud of myself since I didn't think I would reach that many views so soon. Also I wanted to say that I'm sorry that it has been a while since I have posted a new chapter. This chapter was the longest I have written so far and was also the first chapter to reach 1000 words. I'll try to write as many chapters as I can to make the story more up to date. I would appreciate it if you would review the story and tell me what your thoughts on the story so far. Also tell me if you found any of the references from Pokémon that inspired my story. Thank for your time.**


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

Cubone woke up one morning with a horrible back ache. He had been sleeping on smooth rocks the past couple nights and slept in the wrong position. As always, there was a pile of apples right next to him when he woke up. Before he took a bite out of one of them, he thought for a moment about where the apples could have come from.

Cubone has grown up much since first being on his own. He was now more mature than other Pokémon his age and has learned so much about life in a short amount of time.

As Cubone prepared himself for the long day, he had a bizarre feeling that he was being watched. He looked behind himself to see if anyone was there. But there wasn't. That is, until he turned back around to see a marowak standing in front of him.

The marowak was carrying a bone that he held like a staff. He had a heartwarming smile and stood straight as if he only knew how to stand that way.

"Hello there." He said to Cubone.

Cubone grabbed his bone and jumped to his feet in a hurry. He had never seen a marowak before and although he always wanted to be a member, he didn't know what to expect from this one.

"I mean you no harm stranger." chuckled the marowak. "My name is Bone Crush. And yours?"

Cubone hesitated at first before saying his name.

"Cubone," he said lowering his bone.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Cubone." Bone Crush said. "I hope you don't mind me asking this, but why do you look like a marowak?"

Cubone sat down on a rock and stared at the ground. He didn't want to say why, but didn't want to seem rude by not answering either.

Instead of telling Bone Crush, Cubone decided to show him his true face. Bone Crush's eyes were wide opened and his jaw dropped in astonishment when he saw that Cubone was really a kangaskan child with scars on his face.

"My God," he said softly, "you're just a kid. Where are your parents?"

Cubone lowered his head again and stared at the eye holes of the skull. Bone Crush noticed this and wondered.

"You do still have parents, don't you?" he asked.

Cubone shook his head.

Bone Crush continued to ask questions to Cubone.

"But how? What happened?"

Cubone cleared his throat before he answered the question. "My mother was murdered by someone, and then she was … eaten by a pack of wild Pokémon that I have never seen before. The skull and bone was from her skeleton."

"And your father?" Bone Crush added.

"Never had one." Cubone said shaking his head.

"And you have been living on your own ever since?" Bone Crush asked.

Cubone nodded slowly.

"For how long exactly?"

Cubone thought about what to say before answering Bone Crush's question. "Eighteen." he said.

Bone Crush was a bit surprised. "Eighteen weeks. That's about four and a half months, somewhat impressive for someone your age."

Cubone then looked back up at Bone Crush with a saddened look on his face.

"Not weeks." He said before lowering his head once again.

Bone Crush was speechless for a moment. Cubone was not alone for eighteen weeks, but rather eighteen months.

"Cubone," he said "you haven't really been living on your own for a year and a half, have you? That's nearly impossible."

"It's the truth." Cubone stated.

"But what do you do for food?" Bone Crush questioned.

Cubone therefore pointed to the pile of apples that he always woke up next to. "I find these next to me when I wake up in the morning, if I'm lucky. I thought for a moment that you were the one that was giving me these apples, that is until you started asking me questions."

Bone was at a loss for words. He was still interested about Cubone's past, but he didn't want to seem rude by asking more questions. Then he had an idea.

"Cubone, do you have a place to reside?" he asked.

Cubone looked back at Bone Crush and laugh quietly. "I never stay in one place, so no."

Bone Crush then smiled. "Then why don't you come with me? I can take you to where I and the other marowaks live. After all, it's better than sleeping on rocks."

Cubone was surprised to hear the marowak's offer. He remembered a time when it was his life dream to be a member of the marowaks. He thought for a moment before giving an answer to Bone Crush.

"Funny, I always wanted to be a marowak." Cubone said while putting on the skull.

Bone Crush chuckled, "I'll take that as a yes then. Come with me."

The two then headed west towards the farthest edge of the desert. While on their way, the two talked to one another to past the time.

"So how did you find me anyway?" Cubone asked. "I've haven't really seen any Pokémon in this desert."

"I was just on my daily stroll through the desert and then, ta da, there you were." Bone Crush explained.

"Say, aren't marowaks supposed to save the world from danger and villainy?" Cubone asked.

Bone Crush then explained, "Actually we prevent wars and stop terrorism. But from what you're saying, it makes us sound like we're comic book super heroes." The two giggled from Bone Crush's statement. "By the way, those Pokémon you spoke of before, the ones that ate your mother, what did they look like?"

Cubone paused for a moment. "Well, there were two different Pokémon, both canine like. Some were about my size and the others were twice as big. Both however, were black and grey colored."

"Interesting." Bone Crush stated, "It sounds like you encountered poochyenas and mightyenas. But they don't live in the desert, they live in safari areas."

About an hour later, the two had reached Graveyard Temple, the home of the marowaks. Cubone's dream, was now about to be a reality.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

"Here we are Cubone," Bone Crush said. "Graveyard Temple. So what do think?"

"It's a lot bigger than I thought." Cubone answered.

"Come, we must speak with Grave Dig." Bone Crush said heading inside.

"Grave Dig?" Cubone asked.

"Oh, he's our leader." Bone Crush explained. "Come, come, the day is not getting any younger."

Cubone quickly rushed over to Bone Crush as they entered the temple. The temple was filled with statues and beautiful paintings of marowaks which caught Cubone's eye. He also noticed that there was a lack of actual marowaks.

"Where are all the marowaks?" he asked.

Bone Crush chuckled, "Don't worry, you'll see them soon enough."

The two then stood in front of a large door with silver door knobs.

"Ah, here we are." Bone Crush explained. He then knocked on the large door several times with his bone.

"Who's there?" asked a voice from the other side of the door.

"Uh, Bone Crush sir, and I have a guest with me."

"A guest," said the voice once again. Then another marowak wearing an orange sash opened the door. He too, like Bone Crush, was holding his bone like a staff. "Bone Crush, you know better than to bring someone in the temple without my…" he paused for a moment when he saw Cubone, "…permission. Who is this?"

Cubone spoke up before Bone Crush had a chance to speak. "My name is Cubone, sir. Bone Crush brought me here to speak with Grave Dig."

"That would be me." said the marowak.

"Well sir," Bone Crush started, "I was wondering if you could allow Cubone to stay here with us for the time being."

Grave Dig looked back over at Cubone with a curious expression on his face.

"Why are you wearing a skull?" he asked Cubone.

Cubone took off the skull to show Grave Dig his true face. Strangely, Grave Dig was not as shocked as Bone Crush was. Bone Crush then walked over to whisper in Grave Dig's ear.

"Please sir," he pleaded, "before today he was living in the desert for eighteen months."

"Tell me something Cubone," Grave Dig demanded, "where did that skull come from?"

Cubone was somewhat nervous to speak. "It's… from my mother… sir."

Grave Dig then stroked his chin with his free hand as he pondered for a moment. "I see, Bone Crush do me a favor, show Cubone around the temple."

"Sir," Bone Crush asked in confusion.

"Cubone won't be our guest," he ordered. "He is to live here and train to become a member of the marowaks."

Both Cubone and Bone Crush were amazed by this decision from Grave Dig. The two looked at each other to see if either was just as shocked.

"Sir," Bone Crush said as he turned his attention back over to Grave Dig. "This is very generous of you. I can't remember the last time an outsider was offered to be a member."

Grave Dig looked over at Cubone and smiled, "Yes it has been a while, but I can tell that that Cubone here is special. I can see it in his eyes."

"As you wish sir," replied Bone Crush as he kneeled in respect. Cubone quickly did the same as if he thought he had to. Cubone then placed the skull back on his head as he and Bone Crush stood up.

Bone Crush introduced Cubone to the rest of the marowaks who were on the second floor of the temple training. Similar to Bone Crush, they all held their bones as if they were staffs. Bone Crush then proceeded to show Cubone the five floors of the temple which included where they sleep, where they eat, and where they relax. The two in time found themselves down stairs in the basement where the storage area was. But then, Cubone found a strange door at the end of a hallway.

"Hey Bone Crush," he asked, "what's behind that door?"

Bone Crush then looked puzzled, "I'm honestly not sure, only Grave Dig is allowed to go in there. I think it's a meditation room for him or something like that."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Cubone replied.

"Come," Bone Crush demanded, "there is one more place I want to show you."

The two then headed upstairs onto the roof which made Cubone confused since there wasn't anything there.

"What's up here?" he asked.

"Oh nothing," Bone Crush said, "I just love the view from up here."

Cubone laughed at Bone Crush's response. He decided to look out at the desert to see if the view was as good as Bone Crush had said it was. The view was indeed great despite the fact there really wasn't much to see but sand.

There was however, something that caught Cubone's eye. Towards the right of the temple, in the far distance, were tall skyscrapers.

"Bone Crush," he said while pointing, "what's that over there?"

Bone Crush looked over to where Cubone was pointing and sighed. "That Cubone is Castelia City."

Cubone's eyes opened wide as he heard Bone Crush say Castelia City. A flashback then appeared in his mind. He remembered what had happened in the cave with the feraligatr and him mentioning Castelia City.

"Cubone," Bone Crush said concerned, "are you alright?"

Cubone returned his focus back to Bone Crush. "Yeah, I just … doze off for a moment. Do you know anything about Castelia City?"

Bone Crush frowned in disappointment, "I do," he sobbed, "such a shame really, it was once the most beautiful city I have ever seen. But now the city is ruled by the corrupt and populated by criminals."

"Aren't the marowaks able to help the city?" Cubone asked.

"No, the city itself must fight off those two problems by themselves. We cannot interfere." Bone Crush then looked over to Cubone. "Have you heard of the city before?"

Cubone didn't want to tell Bone Crush about the feraligatr. Instead he decided to lie to him.

"No, I haven't." he said.

Bone Crush looked over his shoulder and noticed that the sun was going down. "We should be heading inside; it will be getting dark soon."

Cubone continued to look at the city while Bone Crush started heading down the stairs. Before he was out of sight of Cubone, Bone Crush looked back at Cubone to give him some advice.

"Oh, Cubone," he started. Cubone turned back to look at him. "Just to let you know, lying here can get you killed." Bone Crush then smiled as if he knew Cubone had lied to him and proceeded to walk down the stairs.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

"Wake up," said Bone Crush. "You slept in, Cubone. Wake up."

Cubone then opened his eyes and sat up on his bed yawning.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's been a while since I've slept on an actual bed."

"Well, try from now on getting out of bed before sunrise." Bone Crush said. "Luckily, you don't have any actual training today."

Cubone rubbed his eyes and grabbed his mother's skull that was placed on a night stand. "Why not?"

"Before anyone can start their training to be a member, they must first learn the Commandments of the Marowak Order." Bone Crush explained.

"Commandments?" Cubone asked.

Bone Crush nodded, "Yes Cubone. They are the laws in which we must follow. I already told you one of them yesterday."

Cubone thought for a moment of what Bone Crush said to him. He then remembered. "Lying, you don't allow it."

"Exactly," Bone Crush stated. "Now get yourself tidy up, I'll meet you downstairs."

After a few minutes of cleaning himself, Cubone went downstairs to the main hall where Bone Crush was holding what looked like an old piece of paper.

"Is that the commandments?" Cubone asked.

"Indeed," Bone Crush said, "go ahead and read them."

Bone Crush handed over the paper to Cubone, who read the commandments in his head.

**1. A Marowak must protect others, even at the cost of their own life.**

**2. A Marowak must never kill an innocent Pokémon.**

**3. A Marowak must be truthful and never lie.**

**4. A Marowak must not let their emotions distract them.**

**5. A Marowak must be respectful to those who have deceased.**

"Are these all of them?" Cubone asked.

"Just the ones that matter the most." Bone Crush replied.

Cubone remembered the conversation that Bone Crush had with Grave Dig. Something that they said bothered him, and made Cubone asked Bone Crush for more details.

"Bone Crush," Cubone asked, "you spoke of it was a long time since an outsider was offered to be a member. Who was he?"

"Well, she," Bone Crush pointed out, "was a mienfoo. If I remember correctly, she supposedly was the youngest outsider to come closest to being a member."

"She never became a member?" Cubone asked.

Bone Crush sighed, "She, along with every outsider that was offered to be a member, never passed the final trial. Some were killed during the trial; others did not understand the meaning of the trial and were excommunicated for it."

Cubone looked back over the Commandments once again and was curious about the fourth commandment.

"What exactly does it mean when it says 'We can't let our emotions distract us.'?" Cubone asked.

Bone Crush sighed once again. "It means we cannot see our families. Because of this, when a marowak is born, the baby is immediately relocated to another temple in a different region."

"There are other temples?" Cubone questioned.

Bone Crush nodded, "There's one in the Kanto region, one in the Hoenn region, one in the Kalos region and one here in Unova.

Cubone then lowered his head. "I guess I don't have to worry about that." he said. "I don't have a family anymore."

Bone Crush placed his hand on Cubone's shoulder. "Your mother would be proud of you, Cubone."

Cubone raised his head and smiled, even though Bone Crush couldn't see him smiling because he was still wearing his mother's skull.

"Tomorrow you'll begin your training with Grave Dig," Bone Crush explained. "I don't know how long exactly your training will take. It varies with every Pokémon. It could take months, or even years for you to complete your training. Are you prepared for that?"

Cubone nodded his head once, "Of course I am."

Bone Crush chuckled, "Then good luck, you're going to need it."


End file.
